Several rounds later I remembered that I had a gig to play and they remembered why they'd started it. "Come and see what we've done with your dance" they said. Well, I obviously got the point across at that workshop. They'd changed the formation and number of dancers, the sticking, three figures and the tune. So, to return the compliment, I shamelessly ripped off two of their new figures and spliced them together with a version of Ro's chorus that works for four and fits the tune.

Stepping

We use the standard Red Stags low single-step which is described in the Weobley notations. I'm not too sure how well the dance would work with any other kind of stepping because the chorus relies on a small set and high knees or double-steps would use a lot of space.

Formation

A set of four dancers in a square. Working is either as tops (nearest the musician) and bottoms, or as first and second diagonals. First diagonal is the dancer at the top on the musician's right as the musician sees the set, and the opposite corner.

Chorus

The chorus is sticking followed by walking across the set, twice. This inverts the set. Step whilst sticking. The sticking comes in two parts. First, four lots of frantic forehand smashes, xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx- for eight steps. This is followed by two lots of top and bottom sticking in half tempo T-B-T-B for four steps) and then walk across passing the person you've sticked with by the right.

Start by sticking across the set, then turn 90 degrees to face the next person round and repeat up and down the set with them, eventually ending up in opposite diagonal position. This makes remembering where to finish some of the figures, err... challenging.

Figures

Note that a figure is sixteen steps, the same length as half the chorus.

Back to Back Across

Pass back to back across the set. For the first repeat, pass back to back right shoulders and then turn out over your right shoulder back to place (eight steps). The second repeat is passing back to back left shoulders but once again turning right (in) to get back to place.

Round Stars

All four dancers move in as close to the middle of the set as they can comfortably do, with sticks on the right shoulders, and move round clockwise for eight steps. On the eighth step, all turn out and round to face anti-clockwise, moving out to make a linked-wrist star back to places for eight steps. If the dance I going to go wrong, nine times out of ten this is where it happens, although of course dancers are pretty inventive when it comes to that sort of thing.

Pieces of Eight

Top couple do a half figure of eight through the bottom couple. First diagonal leads off and passes below and round the other first diagonal, then back up the outside to the op second diagonal position. Second diagonal follows as closely behind through the gap as is sensible, round the other first diagonal and into top second diagonal place. (four steps)

It is not sporting for the bottom couple to close the gap up to make life difficult, nor is it sensible since they now repeat the process passing through the gap between the top couple, round and back to the opposite places. Number two diagonal leads the figure. (four steps)

Note that the couples have now swapped sides, so for the third repeat the number one diagonal position leads from the top and number two diagonal position leads at the bottom. There is more slack in the figure than would be implied because yu don't need to wait for the working couple to get back to place before you start the next bit.

Pieces of Eight? Well, it's pieces of a figure eight. This may in fact have been what was intended when Sharp and Karpeles notated the Brimfield dance - certainly some other aspects of that notation lead me to suspect that he dancers weren't taking it all that seriously. And for the two people out there who haven't yet heard the joke:

Q - What goes "pieces of seven, pieces of seven"
A - A parroty error

Back to Back Up and Down

The same back to back figure, turning right both times, up and down the set. But the sticking for the chorus still starts across the set.

Sequence

Once to Yourself
Chorus
Back to Back Across
Chorus
Round Stars
Chorus
Pieces of Eight
Chorus
Back to Back Up and Down
Chorus - finish with sticks in the air

Music

Red Stags use Three Round Three